Mass of Christian Burial for John Neil Graham age 60 of Valentine will be held on Monday, July 2 at 10:30 AM at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Valentine.  Burial will follow at Mt Hope Cemetery in Valentine.  Rosary will be recited on Sunday night, July 1 ^st at 7:00 PM at the church.

John Neil Graham was born on March 9, 1958 in Rockford, Illinois to John William and Wanda Aloha (Billings) Graham. Shortly thereafter, their family moved to the Graham farm on the Niobrara River at Meadville, Nebraska. When the Graham farm sold three years later, the family moved to Valentine. Even though he was an only child, Neil had many siblings in his cousins and the boys from the west side.

John Neil graduated from Valentine Rural High School in 1976 and went on to start college in Norfolk, Nebraska. He finished his degree in Education at Chadron State College 1983. He later went on to achieve a Masters of Science in Education in 1988 also from Chadron State College.

In 1983, he met Marilyn Bruns at a rodeo in Chadron, Nebraska, and one year later they married. They had been married for 34 years. John Neil and Marilyn had three children: Veronica, Amy, and John Eric. Neil loved taking his son hunting and fishing and all of his kids out to Merritt and down to their land on the Niobrara River. His kids didn't quite recognize him without a video camera in his hands, as he documented their lives on film.

John Neil joined the Valentine Fire Department in 1979 and took great pride in every year he served. He had recently gone into Fire Aviation with the single engine air tanker (S.E.A.T.).

John Neil didn't know a stranger. A quick errand was never quick because there was always someone to talk to. He was eager to help his neighbor – and everyone was his neighbor – with snow removal, sprinkler repairs, or advice on just about anything whether it was asked for or not! He had a gift for teaching and was told time and time again how he made the subject of history come alive for his students. Coaching and participating in sports was his passion. It didn't matter if you won or lost, just as long as you tried your best and had fun.

The number of fish he caught and chokecherries he picked and canned can't be counted. The number of hours he sat on a bucket in the middle of a frozen lake or behind the steering wheel of a firetruck or lawn mower are also innumerable. Most importantly, the number of lives he left an impression on is more than he will forever know. He will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.

John Neil is survived by his wife, Marilyn Graham; children, Veronica (Aaron) Beauclair, Amy Graham, and John Eric Graham; his grandchildren Blaise, Zélie, Lucy, and Catherine Beauclair; mother, Wanda Graham; cousins that he called brothers and sisters; aunts; uncles; father and mother-in-law Lewis and Dorothy Bruns; brothers and sisters-in-law; nieces and nephews; his beloved Class of 1976; and the boys of the "West Side Ghetto." He was preceded in death by his father, John William Graham.

I lieu of flowers family request memorials may be made to the John Neil Graham Scholarship fund through the Sandhills Area Foundation.